Sealable curtain systems are known in the prior art. One such sealable curtain taught in U.S. Pat. No. 5,566,736 to Crider et al., incorporated herein by reference, and specifically shown in FIG. 5 of the '736 patent, has two curtains, two channel members, and two elongated rods. The channel members are C-shaped and the lateral ends of each elongated rod are slidably secured therein. Each rod is supported by a single curtain and each curtain is designed to form a seal with only the adjacent lateral side of each channel member. Affixed to the longitudinal sides of each curtain and the lateral sides of the channel members are complementary closure members, such as hook and loop fastening material.
Due to the structure of the '736 patent system, when the curtains are not at their bottommost positions, the portion of each longitudinal side of the first curtain having loop fastening material affixed directly thereto abuts almost the entire circumference of the rod captured within the pocket of the first curtain. If an exterior force is applied to the first curtain, the first curtain rod is urged in the same direction. If the exterior force is adequate and in the general direction towards the lateral sides of the channel members not adjacent to the first curtain, the first curtain may detach from the adjacent lateral side of the channel member and attach to the nonadjacent lateral side of the channel member due to the engagement of the loop fastening material affixed to the longitudinal side of the first curtain with the hook fastening material affixed to the nonadjacent lateral side of the channel member. Following such an event, the first curtain must be detached from the nonadjacent lateral side of the channel member and raised above the point at which the initial detachment occurred so that the curtains may be lowered along their intended paths.
In an attempt to overcome the foregoing problem, the mating hook and loop fasteners on each curtain and corresponding lateral side of each channel member were (1) reduced in width and (2) the mating hook and loop fasteners on one lateral side of a channel member were offset from the mating hook and loop fasteners on the opposite lateral side of the channel member. Thus, if the first curtain was detached from its adjacent lateral side of a channel member, it was prevented from attaching to the nonadjacent lateral side of the channel member because the loop fastener on the first curtain did not align with the hook fastener on the nonadjacent lateral side of the channel member. Although these modifications greatly reduced curtain hang up, other problems arose. Specifically, the reduced width of the mating hook and loop fasteners led to a less secure seal. Also, if a curtain was slightly misaligned with the lateral side of a channel member, the reduced width of the mating hook and loop fasteners sometimes led to inadequate overlap and, consequently, insufficient sealing between the mating hook and loop fasteners. This sometimes also resulted in creases forming in the curtains, which if recurrent, reduced the life of the curtains.
Accordingly, what is needed is an apparatus that overcomes the foregoing problems and allows each longitudinal side of each curtain to become sealably attached to only the adjacent lateral side of each channel member.